In a unanimous decision, City High team the Mockadiles won the Iowa High School Mock Trial Championship.
After placing in the top four out of 32 teams during preliminary rounds on Tuesday, the team, composed mostly of seniors, advanced to the semifinals. They won their semifinal round against Ankeny Centennial’s A team and the final round against Ankeny Centennial’s B team.
“There were definitely a lot of nerves going into the competition. We made it to the finals last year, so this year it was kind of a second chance,” Amal Eltayib ‘26 said. “I think looking around and seeing our entire team with us made everyone feel really good.”
City High Mock Trial secured state runner-up finishes in 2024 and 2025. This is only the second year that the team has won the state championship, after a successful run in 2021 that led to a second place finish at the national championship.
This year, the final round was held in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building and was judged by members of the Iowa Supreme Court, including Justice Matthew McDermott.
“This team has a lot of natural talent for this activity. As sophomores, they placed sixth at the state tournament,” mock trial coach and history teacher Jason Schumann said. “Every year they improved, whether it was adding depth to their witness characters or improving the clarity of their objection responses.”
City High Mock Trial alumni have gone on to successful careers both in and outside of the courtroom. Alumni currently attend law school at Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Iowa, while other students have become neuroscientists, aerospace engineers, teachers, and magazine publishers.
“Mock trial teaches students a number of skills, including analytical thinking, argumentation, creative writing, and public speaking,” Schumann said. “Students also learn real world legal skills from reviewing a case file to arguing the admissibility of evidence in a courtroom.”
In March, City High qualified two of their four teams for State at the St. Ambrose regional competition, including the Mockadiles and the junior team.
“We focused on improving our performance from regionals by sharpening our material and making it funnier, more dramatic, and smoother,” Alma Bhandary-Narayanan ‘26 said.
From the junior team, which did not place at State, Rosella Light ‘27 and Vidya Kumar ‘27 won awards for Outstanding Witness and Outstanding Attorney respectively. Additionally, Lily Rantanen ‘26 won the state championship in the courtroom journalist competition and will join the Mockadiles at the national tournament in May.
This year, the National High School Mock Trial Championship will be held in Des Moines from May 7-9. Iowa hasn’t hosted since 1984, when the first National Championship took place.
“We knew the National Championship would be in Iowa for a long time, and I think this year we were determined to make it happen,” Eltayib said. “It feels good to bring it home!”
The Mockadiles are comprised of ten members: six who play witnesses and four who play attorneys. Judging is based on evidentiary knowledge, preparation, and courtroom decorum.
“The big lesson of Mock Trial is that if you can’t be interesting, you need to be short,” Quinn Clark ‘26 said. “It doesn’t matter how sound your legal theory is or how damning your witness’ testimony is, [because] if you can’t captivate the judge, you’re not going to win.”
Clark played Gale Hawthorne, an insurance adjuster and expert witness, in this year’s case. Her characters are usually funny while still being compelling and trustworthy to judges.
“We have put in so much work over the last four years and built skills that helped carry us to the state championship,” Bhandary-Narayanan said. “We have all learned how to think on our feet and command an audience.”
